Perfectly Ms. Matched(42)
“You’re the boss.” He smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m guessing if 1-2-3-4 is a bad code, then 5-6-7-8 probably won’t cut it either?”
She rolled her eyes. “How about your mom’s birthday. Or someone who the public would never link to you?”
“Okay. I’ll use yours.” He started tapping numbers in.
“No! The point is that you’re the only one who knows the code.” He still remembered her birthday? She’d always thought it was his mother who’d remind him to get a gift each year. “Wait. When do you think my birthday is?”
His expression turned smug. “It’s May fifth. You give me so little credit, Jo.”
“Well, you have to admit, I was the one who remembered your family’s birthdays, not you.” She smiled, kind of impressed he remembered.
“True.” He started scrolling through his missed calls. “But none of them have a birthday on a day for partying. While I’m celebrating Cinco de Mayo, eating guacamole, and drinking my ice-cold cerveza, I always think of you.”
Jo picked up the pillow beside her and smacked him on the arm. “Just dial. We need to get busy saving your sorry ass.”
Chad found the number and hit redial. While he waited, he leaned close and whispered, “Thanks for sticking. I don’t know what’d I do without you.”
When he smiled so sweetly, so sincerely, something shifted in her chest.
“No problem.” But maybe it was. She’d never put up with behavior like that from any other client. Was she falling in love with Chad again?
She needed to lock that down quick. He was leaving in a few weeks after she healed him.
Friday, and her date with Gary the pediatrician, couldn’t come soon enough.
11
SOMETIMES MAKING A MISTAKE IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.
Jo tucked her Kinesio tape back into her gym bag after Chad’s workout on Friday afternoon. She’d taken a bit of a risk in pushing him harder than she liked during the past week, using some new exercises on Chad’s knee, and so far they were really paying off.
He was finally healing well, and they were coming up to the point where he would probably either continue to improve or hit the level of as good as it gets. Her stomach clenched when she thought about how Chad would react if he couldn’t play again. It’d surely throw him into a terrible tailspin.
Chad’s damp T-shirt smacked her arm. “Where did you go off to just now, Jo? Something wrong?” He tossed his shirt into a hamper.
“No. Just thinking.” She checked the time on her fitness band. “Crap, I’m late. I need to get ready for my date tonight. Tell Ryan I left him a snack in the fridge with his name on it.”
“Will do.” Chad crossed his arms across his sweaty, bare chest. “Is your date the reason for that pensive look on your face?”
She couldn’t tell him it was his knee she was worried about. Her job was to keep him positive, now more than ever. “I am a little nervous about tonight.” She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder as they headed for the door. “First dates generally suck.”
Chad smiled, and his eyes lit with mischief. “If you need a little practice before you sleep with him, let me know. Two years is a long time. You might have forgotten how it all works.”
“Or, instinct will overcome me and I’ll rip his clothes off and ravage him because it has been two long years.”
“Lucky guy.” Chad swallowed hard, then looked away. “If you want, I can text you to give you an out if the date’s not working.”
They walked side by side by the rooftop pool. “Do you do that on first dates? Have someone lined up to text you at a certain time?”
“Always. There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a bad first date, silently hoping she won’t order dessert so you can get the hell out.”
“Then this is for all the poor women who’ve you bailed on.” Jo pushed him into the pool. “I think you should do ten laps for penance.”
Chad’s head popped up again and before she could evade, his hands wrapped around her legs. He tugged. “Hey!” She wasn’t going to win the battle, so she flung her bag to safety just before she hit the cool water alongside him in the deep end.
Once she came back up for air, she used both hands and pushed his head under water. She’d just reached the side to get out, when his hands slid around her waist and he pulled her under again. But this time he didn’t let go. He held her body snugly against his as they both broke the surface and swiped their wet hair from their eyes. “Okay. Very funny. Now let go. I have to leave.”